Here are my predictions in terms of Directs for H1 2023.
January 2023
We’re getting a Tears of the Kingdom Direct. I have believed this would be a January thing for a while, but now with the special edition OLED already in production, I think they’re going to do a blowout in a 25-minute TotK Direct. They will show off gameplay mechanics, new characters/locales, and our first real look at what sets this game apart from its predecessor. We will get the official reveal of the leaked special edition OLED (which will release a couple weeks prior to the game, so in early May) along with some Amiibos in a new TotK lineup, which will release with the game. We will have some meaty deep-dives into the experience we should expect to have with the game. It’ll be what we’ve all been craving since E3 2019, although there will still be plenty of secrets that Nintendo doesn’t show off. Of course, we will be left to rampantly speculate about what those things could be, based on supposed clues from in-game footage from the Direct.
Fire Emblem Engage gets a couple more small trailers throughout January (kind of like the short environment trailers we got for Xenoblade Chronicles 3), before an Overview Trailer a few days prior to the game’s release.
Of course, there will be more little things here and there, but I think Nintendo will want to keep its focus on TotK and FE.
February and March 2023
Now comes the part where Switchum gets unpopular. I don’t believe we will get a General Direct until E3 in June. That means I really don’t know what to predict in these months.
I think we might get a Mini in either February or March, but for some reason, I’m really feeling that we might get a Partner Showcase. Nintendo will want to keep their focus on TotK, and aside from some Kirby and maybe a couple other smaller announcements, I don’t think we’re getting much else. Call me a pessimist, but it’s what I’m feeling.
We’ll see a Pokémon Presents in February on Pokémon Day that shows off the SV Expansion Pass.
We will, however, get another Mario Movie Direct in March. It’s weird calling them “Directs” because they’re basically just trailers, but that’s Nintendo’s official branding so it’s worth stating here.
April 2023
This month will focus on TotK and, of course, the Mario Movie. No more Directs about it, but just more clips and release trailers for the film. This is a huge deal for Nintendo, so they won’t want to divert attention away from it.
May 2023
TotK month, baby!! We’ll get the Overview Trailer, which will basically be a 7-minute summary of all the important facts about the game experience that we’ve gotten since the January TotK Direct.
June 2023
Here it is. E3 time, baby. Nintendo will come out swinging with a General Direct now that their Zelda and Mario focuses are out of the way, and we’ll finally hear more about Pikmin 4. We’ll likely also see something Metroid Prime (whether that be 1 HD or 4), and naturally a slew of other first-party announcements as well.
EDIT: I’m a dumb-dumb who forgot Pokémon. Added that in the February section.